Born September 26, 1941, in El Dorado, Arkansas, David Frizzell grew up as the younger brother of country legend Lefty Frizzell and carved out his own path to country stardom in the 1980s, much as Hank Williams, Jr. had done before him. At age twelve he hitchhiked to California, where Lefty welcomed him into the act and secured a 1958 Columbia contract that ultimately produced no releases. Throughout the 1960s Frizzell toured alongside his brother, cut sides for several small labels, and served in the Air Force before returning to Columbia in 1970. That stint yielded two chart singles, one of them the Top 40 entry “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” which B.J. Thomas simultaneously carried into the pop Top Ten.
A year later Frizzell relocated to Nashville and began recording for Cartwheel. Shortly after joining Buck Owens’ All American TV Show in 1973, he signed with Capitol and scored two modest successes, “Words Don’t Come Easy” and “Take Me One More Ride.” Mid-decade sessions for RSO and MCA followed, after which he joined his younger brother Allen and Allen’s wife Shelly West for a Southwest tour. Material recorded with West included “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma,” featured in Clint Eastwood’s 1981 film Any Which Way You Can; the single reached number one on the country chart early that year. “A Texas State of Mind” climbed to number nine by June, and the pair closed 1981 with the Top 20 hit “Husbands and Wives.”
The duo returned to the Top Ten in 1982 with “Another Honky-Tonk Night on Broadway” and “I Just Came Here to Dance,” earning multiple Duo of the Year honors. Capitalizing on that momentum, Frizzell claimed his first solo number-one that same year with “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home,” taken from the album Family’s Fine, But This One’s All Mine. “Lost My Baby Blues” and “Where Are You Spending Your Nights These Days” both reached the Top Ten across 1982 and 1983, while “A Million Light Beers Ago” became his final solo Top 40 single. Frizzell and West scored consecutive 1984 hits with “Silent Partners” and “It’s a Be Together Night.” He continued releasing material through the decade on Nashville America, Compleat, and BFE.
